Box Score
The Bob Jones University Bruins women's basketball team remained undefeated in region play as the team battled for a 72-37 victory over Toccoa Falls College on Thursday night in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The team is now 7-9 on the season.
"Defensively, we were able to shut them down and limit them to one shot," Bruins Coach Mike LeViere said. "That is something we need to carry over with each game. Toccoa continues to improve each time we face them and they are a much better team than we saw earlier in the year."
Even though it was a rough shooting performance for the Bruins, the team overcame their struggles offensively with locked down defense and rebounding and in converting their attempts from the free throw line.
The Bruins came into the game having won two of their last three games. Earlier in the season, the Bruins and Screaming Eagles met with the Bruins capturing a 77-43 win in Greenville, South Carolina.
From the opening tip, the Bruins came out strong with back to back baskets to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The team had stunned the hometown fans as they continued to play great defense in forcing tough shots for the Screaming Eagles. But offensively, the Bruins began to struggle with shooting as open shots rattled the rim but wouldn't fall. This allowed the Screaming Eagles to edge closer as the Bruins led 13-11 at the end of the 1st quarter.
In the second quarter, the Screaming Eagles fought back to tie the game 16-16, but the Bruins shook off the rally to respond with a 6-0 run to again climb on top. Although the team continued to struggle with knocking down their open shots, they were able to convert by drawing fouls and earning points from the free throw line. The Lady Bruins were 6-7 from the charity stripe in the quarter which helped the team take a 26-21 lead into the break.
As the second half began, the Bruins again started out strong with a 10-2 run to open the quarter and further pad their lead. Defensively, the post play of Amanda Bates and Kylee Leffew fueled the Bruins as the pair combined for 19 rebounds in the game while forcing the Screaming Eagles into tough looks all game long. This defensive pressure and effort in rebounding allowed the team to limit TFC on offense and provided more opportunities for transition scoring for the Bruins. Still, the Bruins offense struggled from the floor shooting just 20% from beyond the arc and 28% from the field in the quarter. But free throws continued to save the day for the team as they added to their lead to take a 44-34 lead into the final quarter.
The story of the 4th quarter can be summed up in two-words for the Bruins: suffocating defense. The Bruins held the Screaming Eagles to just 3 points in the entire quarter as the team continued to add to their lead. The Screaming Eagles tried to claw their way back into the game, but the Bruins stood strong as they soared to a 72-37 win.
"We focused on doing the little things right hoping the shots would eventually fall," Coach LeViere said. "I'm not sure they ever fell for us in this game but we did the little things right of playing good defense and outrebounding them. That is going to help us win when we do those things right."
Hannah Tompkins led the Bruins with 17 points while going 9-12 from the free throw line. Kylee Leffew scored 16 to go along with 7 rebounds and Sydney Bedsaul scored 13 points. Amanda Bates had 6 points and dominated the glass with 12 rebounds. The Bruins shot 73% from the free throw line in the game (22-30) and out-rebounded the Screaming Eagles 53-32. With the win, the Bruins improve to 7-9 on the season and 3-0 in region play.
Next up, the Bruins will play their first home game of second semester as they welcome Warren Wilson College to the Davis Field House on Saturday afternoon.
